On the Ganges Riverbank.

Photos (1940s) by Alain Daniélou (Shiva Sharan), Raymond Burnier (Harsharan) and Jacques Cloarec (1990s)

Jacques Cloarec

SUR LE RIVERBANK DU GANGES presents 26 photos of the Ganges at Varanasi. The black & white photos were taken by Alain Daniélou and Raymond Bumier between 1935 and 1955, while the color photos, exceptionally added to this exhibition, were taken by Jacques Cloarec (Honorary President of FIND) during his many trips to India after 1994.

FIND India-Europe Foundation for New Dialogues is a Swiss non-profit foundation based in Lausanne, Rome, Paris and Varanasi. Since 1969, it has promoted artistic and cultural dialogue between India and Europe, and disseminated the work of its founder Alain Daniélou.

Alan Daniélou and Raymond Burnier were among the few Westerners who converted to Hinduism, at the behest of the famous Sannyasin Swami Karpatri. In the early 1940s, they were given the names “Shiva Sharan” and “Harsharan” respectively, and moved into the Rewa Kothi mansion in Benares, the last building on the upper bank of the Ganges at the time. It was from this privileged spot that, for over twenty years, they admired and photographed the majestic river, the crowds of pilgrims and the poetry of sunsets. At the time, color photography was still relatively unknown, which is why the images in this exhibition are in black and white. Not only were they photographers, but Raymond Burnier was also an excellent technician, developing and printing his photographs in a darkroom he had created in Rewa Kothi. During their stay in India, they traveled extensively throughout the country in what was perhaps the first caravan to be seen in India, a caravan they had shipped from the USA. A major exhibition of their photographs of the medieval Indian temples of Khajuraho,Bhubaneswar and Konarak, was held in Calcutta and inaugurated by Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Indian Union. This exhibition then toured the world and, in 1949, was the first exhibition of photography to be held at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which until then had not considered photography an art form. I was Alain Daniélou’s assistant for over thirty years, but it was only after his death in 1994 that I began to visit India. I found the places where they lived, and like them, I bathed in the waters of the Ganges and even consumed bhang to celebrate the festival of Maha Shivaratri. Living at Assi Ghat, I too was overwhelmed by the harmony and beauty of living on the Ghats, a place I’ve always remained close to. The photos I’ve taken on these visits are in full color and try to capture the poetry and serenity that overwhelm us when we live in this holy city.

Jacques Cloarec, Bruxelles – January 2015